It’s Zucchini Season!

August and the end of summertime are some of the best times of the year in the kitchen. Our gardens are overflowing with delicious, fresh vegetables just waiting to be used in our favorite as well as new recipes. Zucchini is always included in our garden, and even if you don’t garden, I can guarantee that your local farmers’ market or food store will have plenty of zucchini available. And like us, there are lots of friends who’ll share the zucchini love by gladly giving you some of their zucchini harvest!

Baking with zucchini is simply amazing. Adding shredded zucchini into baked recipes takes the moistness to another level. It’s all about the water that’s doing the magic in your recipes. One bite into something made with zucchini is all it takes to understand. From breads to muffins to cakes, zucchini adds an amazing dimension!

Some of the things that we love so much about zucchini and all of the squash family, are the blossoms or flowers that appear all over the vines. People are finally catching on to the deliciousness of zucchini blossoms! I grew up in a family that fried and stuffed them every spring and summer when the blossoms first appear.

During my recent trip to Italy, I found so many fresh zucchini blossoms in the markets!

Best Zucchini Recipes

With this list that we’ve put together, you don’t need to wonder what to cook this time of year. This isn’t a list of a gazillion recipes that you have to go through. It’s just a nice list of recipes from sweet to savory and from appetizers to desserts. These are truly our favorite zucchini recipes, as well as several new recipes from other food bloggers that will be made this summer in our kitchen.

 

ZUCCHINI APPETIZER Recipes

 

Crispy Garlic Parmesan Zucchini Chips with Roasted Garlic and Basil Aioli

Fried Zucchini Blossoms

Fried Zucchini Blossoms / Fiori di Zucchini Fritti in Pastella

from “Damn Delicious“

Baked Parmesan Zucchini

 

 

ZUCCHINI SIDE DISH Recipes

 

Cheesy Parmesan Zucchini and Rice Graten
creamy parmesan zucchini and rice gratin
creamy cheese spilling out of the zucchini and rice gratin

Cheesy Parmesan Zucchini and Rice Gratin

Zucchini and Yellow Squash with Italian Cheeses Torta

 

from Food 52

Julia Child’s Zucchini Tian

 

Zucchini Onion Pie

ZUCCHINI ENTREE Recipes

 

Classic Italian Minestrone Instant Pot

Classic Italian Minestrone (Featured on BuzzFeed)

Stuffed Zucchini with Bolognese Sauce

Risotto Stuffed Zucchini with Bolognese Sause

from “eatwell 101“

Garlic Buttered Turkey Meatballs with Zucchini Pasta Noodles

 

from “Damn Delicious“

Zucchini Noodles Alfredo

from Donna Hay’s “Basics To Brilliance“

Ricotta and Zucchini Canneloni

SWEET ZUCCHINI Recipes

 

Lemon Zucchini Bread

Zucchini Banana Bread

Zucchini Banana Bread with Sweet Mascarpone

zucchini cake

Super MOIST Cinnamon Zucchini Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

 

SAVORY ZUCCHINI BREAD Recipes

 

from “Brown Eyed Baker“

Cheesy Zucchini and Sun-Dried Tomato Scones

from “The Forked Spoon“

Cheesy Zucchini Bread

 

Tips for Cooking and Baking with Zucchini

  • Always select zucchini that are smaller in size. They have the best flavor and texture.
  • If you forget to pick your zucchini in the garden and a giant zucchini appears, don’t toss it out. These are the zucchini that are best for shredding to use in your baked recipes.
  • For prettier color in your recipes, shred the entire zucchini with the green skin left on. As you know, we taste with our eyes first!
  • While you’re shredding, keep in mind that you can shred a lot and freeze it to use later and in colder months when you want a taste of fresh summer!
  • When freezing, before putting shredded zuccini in freezer bags, always gently squeeze out some of the water, using clean paper towels to soak up the water.
  • Zucchini can be frozen for up to 3 months.
  • Defrost the frozen zucchini when ready to use and give it another squeeze to remove more moisture, but not all of it. It’s the water in zucchini that makes recipes so moist after all!

Have you got some favorite zucchini recipes?

Please let everyone here know in your comment below! I’m always on the prowl for new recipe ideas using the ultra-versatile zucchini.

There are simply so many zucchini recipes out there, and these are our top picks that we’ve made over and over again. So enjoy all of these with your family, friends and loved ones. We hope you enjoy all of our favorite zucchini recipes!

Here’s to having a delicious end-of-summer time and zucchini season. And don’t forget to use up more of your zucchini abundance by doubling and tripling your recipes to share with everyone. They will thank you endlessly for your kind generosity.